A new research report from UPS and GreenBiz presented new findings that also confirmed what many in the industry had already suspected: "the value of partnership, among OEMs, users and cities, all together at the table," said Tom Madrecki, director of urban innovation and mobility at UPS.

But action is still lagging — under 50 percent of private companies are having these conversations, Madrecki noted. That means there's much more opportunity out there.

In his past (career) life, Tom Madrecki trained city planners to communicate with communities. He learned how to get people to see past the tedium of political involvement in order to "get them to walk along the path of their version of the future."

Now, as the director of urban innovation and mobility at UPS, he is doing the same for the private sector.